Buy to let: the specialists

We launched our Specialist 3 and 5 Year Buy to Let products just one month ago, but they already account for 15% of Funding 365’s business pipeline. Given this response to our new products, it is clear that there is a strong demand for competitive, specialist buy to let solutions with a bespoke, service-led proposition.

Mainstream lenders are reluctant to look at complicated scenarios and tailored solutions, which is where specialist lenders like Funding 365 excel. We designed our buy to let products specifically to cater for three areas - quirky properties, complex borrowers and underserved regions. This is evidenced by the BTL loans now in our pipeline, which include houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), flats that are not yet tenanted, holiday lets, foreign nationals, expats and a large percentage of properties in regions outside of London.

Quirky Properties

Traditional lenders favour straightforward buy to let securities. Specialist lenders like Funding 365, on the other hand, underwrite in a highly bespoke manner - which means that we can become comfortable with unusual properties rather than reject them outright.

Alongside flats and houses, we consider HMOs, multi-unit freehold blocks (MUFBs), holiday lets, student accommodation, social housing and other less common securities. We also consider semi-commercial properties where the commercial element is less than 30% of the property value.

Complex Borrowers

The tailored underwriting approach of specialist lenders also allows them to consider more complicated borrower scenarios to create bespoke solutions. At Funding 365 we offer funding to foreign nationals from a large number of countries, as long as they have a UK credit footprint and UK bank account. We are also happy to consider borrowers with adverse credit profiles.

Underserved Regions

A common misconception is that London based lenders prefer to lend on properties in the South East. Funding 365 has always had securities from a wide geographical area across England and Wales on its loan book and, since launching our Northern Ireland Bridge product earlier this year, the region has grown to become a key one for us.

Northern Ireland is particularly underserved by buy to let lenders with a genuine appetite to lend, and even more so by specialist lenders with competitive rates for non-standard properties and borrowers. Our Northern Ireland Specialist 3 and 5 Year BTL product specifically caters for these landlords, with solutions between £100,000 and £3million from 7.49%pa, fixed.

Our new Government has made ambitious plans to increase housing stock in the UK to catch up with demand. Private landlords are going to be integral to supplying the rental homes that are needed, and specialist lenders will play a vital role in supporting them in their endeavours.